Achievement-based leadership styles on the part of executives and managers can lead to strikingly good results for companies in the short term; however, a more diverse set of leadership styles, focused on coaching employees and establishing strategy-oriented goals, may be more important for success in the long run. Excessive focus on achievement can often be harmful to employee morale, especially when bosses satisfy their need for achievement by taking over a project themselves rather than instructing their employees how they can best manage it. As a result, these controlling managers can often find themselves blocked from advancement as performance in their units stalls. Achievement-oriented executives tend to favor leadership styles that direct their employees toward courses of action the executive has already decided on; however, stronger leaders should be able to employ a wider variety of leadership strategies, including those more focused on coaching employees, achieving consensus among team members, and communicating goals clearly. The type of leadership style chosen for a certain type of situation may vary according to whether the business is in a low-stress period or a crisis situation, but all leaders need a certain amount of flexibility in their styles. In order to better achieve this flexibility, achievement-oriented executives can take steps to determine what their motives are in trying to achieve their leadership goals and engage in activities that satisfy those motives without creating a damaging workplace environment.

An evaluation approach dubbed 360-degree feedback can have a negative impact on a person who is being assessed, according to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). The process involves collecting anonymous opinions about a person's abilities from all levels of a firm, and is intended to be a way to get honest responses that would not be otherwise available. The aim is to use the feedback to become aware of how a person is perceived by others and identify areas in which a person might need improvement. But according to an ASTD magazine article, people who get feedback anonymously might become defensive, especially if they "wonder about the source and accuracy of the feedback." ASTD suggests that rather than conducting an all-inclusive evaluation, which some people might take for as an anything-goes opportunity, companies should limit the feedback to sources who know the subject well. Finally, the feedback should be used to identify behaviors that are praised and those that could be enhanced though modifications. Feedback also needs to be conveyed carefully and the subject should feel they are being supported. "Frame the experience as a difficult but positive challenge rather than a personal indictment," the ASTD advises. The article also explains that relapse is a normal part of the change process.

Workers have a hard time developing good, solid ideas and solutions in a group setting because they feel self-conscious around their peers. Moreover, workers contend that their creativity cannot be timed or scheduled to function, but experts claim that brainstorming session actually serve another purpose, allowing the managers to pass the blame onto subordinates of decisions are not successes. In other cases, some workers will hijack the session to prove others wrong regarding a particular problem in order to impress superiors, but experts note that brainstorming sessions can be scheduled and be fruitful. The most successful brainstorming sessions require rules to control conversation and outbursts, as well as political maneuvering among colleagues, and rules regarding the elimination of peers' egos. After a group brainstorming session, experts suggest allowing individuals to continue brainstorming for a period of time on their own after those group sessions because generally those with good ideas think of them after group meetings. Another technique that has helped some employers has been to solicit ideas from workers privately or allow workers to submit ideas on paper at any time.